4 `And He writeth on the tables, according to the first writing, the Ten Matters, which Jehovah hath spoken unto you in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, in the day of the assembly, and Jehovah giveth them unto me,
And Moses bringeth out the people to meet God from the camp, and they station themselves at the lower part of the mount, and mount Sinai `is' wholly a smoke from the presence of Jehovah, who hath come down on it in fire, and its smoke goeth up as smoke of the furnace, and the whole mount trembleth exceedingly;
`And God speaketh all these words, saying, I `am' Jehovah thy God, who hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants. `Thou hast no other Gods before Me. `Thou dost not make to thyself a graven image, or any likeness which `is' in the heavens above, or which `is' in the earth beneath, or which `is' in the waters under the earth. Thou dost not bow thyself to them, nor serve them: for I, Jehovah thy God, `am' a zealous God, charging iniquity of fathers on sons, on the third `generation', and on the fourth, of those hating Me, and doing kindness to thousands, of those loving Me and keeping My commands. `Thou dost not take up the name of Jehovah thy God for a vain thing, for Jehovah acquitteth not him who taketh up His name for a vain thing. `Remember the Sabbath-day to sanctify it; six days thou dost labour, and hast done all thy work, and the seventh day `is' a Sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thy cattle, and thy sojourner who is within thy gates, -- for six days hath Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that `is' in them, and resteth in the seventh day; therefore hath Jehovah blessed the Sabbath-day, and doth sanctify it. `Honour thy father and thy mother, so that thy days are prolonged on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee. `Thou dost not murder. `Thou dost not commit adultery. `Thou dost not steal. `Thou dost not answer against thy neighbour a false testimony. `Thou dost not desire the house of thy neighbour, thou dost not desire the wife of thy neighbour, or his man-servant, or his handmaid, or his ox, or his ass, or anything which `is' thy neighbour's.'
and ye draw near and stand under the mountain, and the mountain is burning with fire unto the heart of the heavens -- darkness, cloud, yea, thick darkness: `And Jehovah speaketh unto you out of the midst of the fire; a voice of words ye are hearing and a similitude ye are not seeing, only a voice; and He declareth to you His covenant, which He hath commanded you to do, the Ten Matters, and He writeth them upon two tables of stone. `And me hath Jehovah commanded at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, for your doing them in the land whither ye are passing over to possess it; and ye have been very watchful of your souls, for ye have not seen any similitude in the day of Jehovah's speaking unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire,
Face to face hath Jehovah spoken with you, in the mount, out of the midst of the fire; I am standing between Jehovah and you, at that time, to declare to you the word of Jehovah, for ye have been afraid from the presence of the fire, and ye have not gone up into the mount; saying: `I Jehovah `am' thy God, who hath brought thee out from the land of Egypt, from a house of servants. `Thou hast no other gods in My presence. `Thou dost not make to thee a graven image, any similitude which `is' in the heavens above, and which `is' in the earth beneath, and which `is' in the waters under the earth; thou dost not bow thyself to them nor serve them, for I Jehovah thy God `am' a zealous God, charging iniquity of fathers on children, and on a third `generation', and on a fourth, to those hating Me; and doing kindness to thousands, to those loving Me, and to those keeping My commands. `Thou dost not take up the Name of Jehovah thy God for a vain thing, for Jehovah doth not acquit him who taketh up His Name for a vain thing. `Observe the day of the sabbath -- to sanctify it, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee; six days thou dost labour, and hast done all thy work, and the seventh day `is' a sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thine ox, and thine ass, and all thy cattle, and thy sojourner who `is' within thy gates; so that thy man-servant, and thy handmaid doth rest like thyself; and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God is bringing thee out thence by a strong hand, and by a stretched-out arm; therefore hath Jehovah thy God commanded thee to keep the day of the sabbath. `Honour thy father and thy mother, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee, so that thy days are prolonged, and so that it is well with thee, on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee. `Thou dost not murder. `Thou dost not commit adultery. `Thou dost not steal. `Thou dost not answer against thy neighbour -- a false testimony. `Thou dost not desire thy neighbour's wife; nor dost thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, and his man-servant, and his handmaid, his ox, and his ass, and anything which `is' thy neighbour's. `These words hath Jehovah spoken unto all your assembly, in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness -- a great voice; and He hath not added, and He writeth them on two tables of stone, and giveth them unto me. `And it cometh to pass as ye hear the voice out of the midst of the darkness, and of the mountain burning with fire, that ye come near unto me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders, and say, Lo, Jehovah our God hath shewed us His honour, and His greatness; and His voice we have heard out of the midst of the fire; this day we have seen that God doth speak with man -- and he hath lived. `And, now, why do we die? for consume us doth this great fire -- if we add to hear the voice of Jehovah our God any more -- then we have died. For who of all flesh `is' he who hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire like us -- and doth live?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Deuteronomy 10
Commentary on Deuteronomy 10 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 10
De 10:1-22. God's Mercy in Restoring the Two Tables.
1. At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first—It was when God had been pacified through the intercessions of Moses with the people who had so greatly offended Him by the worship of the golden calf. The obedient leader executed the orders he had received as to the preparation both of the hewn stones, and the ark or chest in which those sacred archives were to be laid.
3. And I made an ark of shittim wood—It appears, however, from Ex 37:1, that the ark was not framed till his return from the mount, or most probably, he gave instructions to Bezaleel, the artist employed on the work, before he ascended the mount—that, on his descent, it might be finished, and ready to receive the precious deposit.
4, 5. he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing—that is, not Moses, who under the divine direction acted as amanuensis, but God Himself who made this inscription a second time with His own hand, to testify the importance He attached to the ten commandments. Different from other stone monuments of antiquity, which were made to stand upright and in the open air, those on which the divine law was engraven were portable, and designed to be kept as a treasure. Josephus says that each of the tables contained five precepts. But the tradition generally received, both among Jewish and Christian writers is, that one table contained four precepts, the other six.
5. I … put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me—Here is another minute, but important circumstance, the public mention of which at the time attests the veracity of the sacred historian.
6-9. the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera—So sudden a change from a spoken discourse to a historical narrative has greatly puzzled the most eminent biblical scholars, some of whom reject the parenthesis as a manifest interpolation. But it is found in the most ancient Hebrew manuscripts, and, believing that all contained in this book was given by inspiration and is entitled to profound respect, we must receive it as it stands, although acknowledging our inability to explain the insertion of these encampment details in this place. There is another difficulty in the narrative itself. The stations which the Israelites are said successively to have occupied are enumerated here in a different order from Nu 33:31. That the names of the stations in both passages are the same there can be no doubt; but, in Numbers, they are probably mentioned in reference to the first visit of the Hebrews during the long wandering southwards, before their return to Kadesh the second time; while here they have a reference to the second passage of the Israelites, when they again marched south, in order to compass the land of Edom. It is easy to conceive that Mosera (Hor) and the wells of Jaakan might lie in such a direction that a nomadic horde might, in different years, at one time take the former first in their way, and at another time the latter [Robinson].
10-22. Moses here resumes his address, and having made a passing allusion to the principal events in their history, concludes by exhorting them to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully.
16. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart—Here he teaches them the true and spiritual meaning of that rite, as was afterwards more strongly urged by Paul (Ro 2:25, 29), and should be applied by us to our baptism, which is "not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God" [1Pe 3:21].